[PatrickHenry]

It would be tolerable to say that consciousness/spirit is outside the scope of biology were it not for the fact that some of the scientists turn right back around and say that neither consciousness nor spirit can exist because they are not material.

Well, A-Girl, whatcha gonna do with some of these guys? You can't censor scientists who express personal philosophical beliefs, even when they go way beyond what their science literally indicates. And you don't want to literally outlaw science because of those who make such statements. However, people who select high school texts should take care that they contain only science, and not the author's unsupportable philosophical agenda. (There's a tendency to get carried away here, which is a topic for another thread.)

Besides, it's not just scientists who do this kind of thing. All kinds of people make all kinds of unsupportable claims that go well outside of their areas of professional competence. Preachers do it too. Personally, I wish they'd stop telling us about economics and taxes and all that Great Society stuff. But it's precisely because all fields of learning have blowhards that we must learn to do our own thinking. Life just ain't easy.

[Wildly enthusiastic hugs!]

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so very much for your post! Wildly enthusiastic volley hugs!

But it's precisely because all fields of learning have blowhards that we must learn to do our own thinking.

Absolutely! That's why I think it is important, in K-12 public schools, either to purge ideology of all kinds or present opposing points-of-view with encouragement for kids to make their own decisions.